Oakridge Bulldogs Exercise! For: Parents at Oakridge Elementary school

Intro Fitness levels for our students at Oakridge Elementary school are on decline and a recent study states that only one in four American schoolchildren gets a sufficient amount of physical activity everyday. The number of overweight children is growing rapidly. Almost 37 percent of 6- to 11-year olds are obese. This being said, Oakridge Elementary school is making a strong effort to reach out to all our parents and help get our students moving!

Benefits Most children need at least an hour of physical activity every day. Regular exercise helps children Feel less stressed Feel better about themselves Feel more ready to learn in school

Benefits Keep a healthy weight Build and keep healthy bones, muscles and joints Sleep better at night

Go Outside and Play As your child spends more time watching TV, they spend less time running and playing. As a parents you should limit TV, video game and computer time. You should also make an effort to set a good example by being active yourself. Exercising together can make it fun. Competitive sports can help kids stay fit

Go Outside and Play Encourage your child to participate in sports here at Oakridge elementary. There are countless of benefits for your child when participating in school sports, not just staying healthy. Also if you live in reasonable proximity, try maybe having your child walk or bike to school everyday.

Just Think About It Physical Activity should be fun, so help and make exercising enjoyable for you and your child. This can also help bring you and your child closer together as a family at the same time.

Why My child should exercise? Your child should exercise because Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for developing coronary artery disease. It also increases the risk of stroke and such other major cardiovascular risk factors as obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes just to name the major ones.

The American Heart Association They say that all children age 2 and older should participate in at least 60 minutes of enjoyable, moderate-intensity physical activities every day that are developmentally appropriate and varied. If your child or children don't have a full 60-minute activity break each day, try to provide at least two 30-minute periods or four 15-minute periods in which they can engage in vigorous activities appropriate to their age, gender and stage of physical and emotional development.

Get up and start moving Starting a new program here at Oakridge next year called get up and start moving! This program is going to be designed to benefit our students here at Oakridge Elementary. It’s going to be a workout or exercise log prepared by parents and students each week. There will be prizes and awards given out at the end of each week to the Bulldog who gets outside and exercises the most. Parents just keep on the lookout for more information about this program.

Go Bulldogs This is your Principal Mr. Lambert and I just wanted to thank you for taking the time and reading through this pamphlet that your child brought home. Lastly, I wanted to challenge you to take the information and make an effort to work with your child on putting down the TV remote or video game controller and get up and start moving! Thanks, Patrick Lambert

Work cited http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/exerciseforchildren.html http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Physical-Activity-and-Children_UCM_304053_Article.jsp